


Futures

by chshrkitten



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Julian's Route, Leaning on the Fourth Wall, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other, and a full YEAR later i’m actually writing it out, i just… had a plot bunny when first playing the game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:01:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28938177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chshrkitten/pseuds/chshrkitten
Summary: The cards tell Malta many things, and maybe a little more than she was supposed to know.
Relationships: Apprentice & Asra (The Arcana), Apprentice/Julian Devorak
Kudos: 6





	Futures

The gray pre dawn light filtered in through cracks in the shop’s curtains as Asra padded down the stairs. Normally even Asra wouldn’t be up this early, but this morning he was woken suddenly when he rolled over and found that his apprentice’s side of the bed was already cold.  
Once Malta was asleep, it usually took an army to get her up in the morning. If she was awake before dawn, Asra knew that meant she hadn’t come to bed at all last night.

Since this had been happening for a few weeks now, Asra didn’t have to wonder where he’d find her.

Asra lingered at the back of the shop, and told himself he was listening rather than just hesitating, trying to think of what he could say. Through the velvet curtain dividing the main part of the shop from the back room they used for readings, he could hear the shuffle of cards, and Malta muttering something short and indistinct under her breath. 

He pushed the curtain back, rings rattling against the brass curtain rod, and Malta jerked her head up at the loud sound in the quiet shop.

She had the Arcana spread out in front of her, the familiar deck (worn thin with long use, but beautifully painted) scattered at seeming random across the table. Malta hunched over the table, her face as gray as the early morning sky. Her deep set eyes had more of a haunted look about them than usual, and the delicate skin beneath them was stained with exhaustion.

“You didn’t sleep?” Asra asked.

“I keep asking the cards,” she said, her normally expressive voice dried and deadened, “over and over, but they tell me the same thing every time: all these shifting futures and decisions to be made, and a thousand possibilities….” Her laugh rang hollow. “The only constant is that it all relies on me. On what I do. On what I say. On how I affect him.”

“So the cards must still be so certain… I can’t believe that…” He trailed off. “About you, and Ilya?”

“They always are, now. It’s the one thing that’s the same in every reading: Julian is the key, and I’m the one who can turn him in the lock, so to speak. I’m not even going to tell him about this, what would I say? He already hates magic.” She ran her finger down the side of one gilt edged card, but didn’t turn it over just yet. “The cards always say that it all comes down to him. Whether we can defeat the Devil, whether we can keep Vesuvia safe… whether we can be happy…” She closed her eyes, running a hand through her unwashed hair. 

Asra crossed the small room in a few strides, and slid into the chair across from her, where the customer normally sat. Malta’s hand was resting on the tabletop, and Asra itched to reach for it, to smooth his fingertips across the dips of her knuckles. He didn’t reach for her; maybe someday there would be a time for that, but this was not it. Instead, he asked “Are you sure?” It wasn’t the first time he’d asked.

“Yes, I am.” Malta finally flipped over the card. Asra looked. It was the Hanged Man, but Malta had twisted it sideways before turning it over, so that there was no way to tell which way it had originally been facing. “The cards all say that my choices in how I interact with Julian are the deciding factor in whether our end will be Upright….or Reversed.” She laughed bleakly, spinning the card almost irreverently on the table.

“Malta.” She looked up at him. “No matter what happens, the future can always be changed. Nothing is ever set in stone.” After all, Asra knew this better than anyone, looking across the table at a woman whose ashes he’d watched run through his fingers.

“That's what I'm afraid of."

Asra hesitated. “You could…. Ugh, I know you don’t want to hear this, I’m sorry. But you don’t have to be involved with him.”

“I know.” Malta shrugged, a small smile appearing on her lips. “But I love him, the stupid man.” 

“It had to be Ilya.” 

She laughed, presumably at the frown on his face, and sighed. Some of the tension seemed to leave her posture. “It’s not about just him, it's-- everything, everything in Vesuvia anyway, and being with him is how I’m… connected to it? I don’t know. You know how hard it is to put what the arcana tells you into words sometimes. It’s not like my fortune is guaranteed to be bad, you know. Just… important, in ways I don’t know how to handle.”

“I want you to know you never have to handle it alone.” 

“I know.” Malta said, standing. She squeezed his shoulder and drew him up with her. “Come on. There’s still time to get a few more hours of sleep.”

**Author's Note:**

> Not that this cute queer romance/fantasy dating sim is a very stressful game in general, but can you imagine if it was your real life, and you found out that your entire citystate’s future hinged on you maintaining a healthy romantic relationship? Big oof, girl. Anyway, I feel like this turned out really cheesy but I’ve been tinkering with this idea for months and at this point I JUST want it published and done with. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought?


End file.
